Trinidad is one that comes to mind for this. Had a unique ability to come back after every time he was knocked down (except the Hopkins fight). Hamed as well, though a lot of the knockdowns he suffered were because of his balance, or lack there of. Carl Froch also comes to mind. Who else?
My answer would be Ali. I don't think there's another fighter in history who recovered as well from being hurt/dropped as Ali. He was almost inhuman in that regard.
Joe Calzaghe. Got buzzed and dropped a fair few times, including a forearm smash from ancient RJJ. Never remotely close to being stopped. JMM is probably my best answer, though. Bloke got bounced round like a tennis ball, fought in the pocket constantly and never came close to being KO-ed. Tough little bastard. MTF
That first Frazier fight for sure and after Henry Cooper dropped him you could see Ali was HURT and yet he still came back.
JMM is the best example of that answer. He'll be knocked off his feet and even hurt often in fights but he'll still come right back up and continue fighting harder. Even when he was close to getting stopped (Pac 4) he still finds a way to win. His recovery is crazy, although it helps that he's a warrior with heart.
Robinson also deserves mention. He was hard enough just to hurt, but when he did did get hurt, he recovered very quickly.
Yeah good call on Trinidad. It seems like when he was dropped and hurt he became more dangerous. I always felt Trinidad was a chinny fighter but because he had such a huge heart he willed himself into victory. But I think the best example of this is Corrales vs Castillo 1 in the 10th rd... He was hurt múltiple times and came back for an epic win. The second example would be Marquez in the first Pacquio fight. And the 4th he showed some recuperative powers in the pacquio fights.
Nigel Benn probably worth a mention. G-Man put a proper beating on him, had him dangling off the bottom rope, dropped, and hurt a number of times… and he still kept coming back windmilling his foe, unfortunately, damn near to death.
His first fight with Pac was incredible. Not just that he hung in there, but that he stuck to his plan despite the disastrous start- made some adjustment for the straight left, then proceeded to box beautifully for nearly 12 rounds straight.
Good mentions thus far. Holmes, Jofre and Gomez I'd add. Holmes was known for it. Jofre had a hard chin and great recuperative powers both, similar to Robinson. Aoki, Harada and Legra all buzzed him and Medel badly hurt him but he came roaring back to flatten Aoki and Medel, nearly stop Harada and grind his way back into the Legra fight. The punch he hit Medel with at the end of the ninth when he himself was still reeling was something out of a film, one of those fucking hell moments
I think Viktor Galindo is a good example of someone with good recuperative powers. He had a crude style and took 2 or 3 shots to get his one in but made them count. He was a good fighter but for some reason his country men hated him and his career was overshadowed by the great Monzon. Over the years I have enjoyed watching tough Argentinians like Maidana, Castaño, Galindo, Martinez. Always had good chins and put on a hell of a fight.
Well he wasnt a cute fighter. I see his style as more of a brawler. He was a stocky fighter for the 175 división and used his superior upper body to out muscle his opponents. His fights with Ahumada and Fourier were wars. The guy was closer to Maidana than Mayweather. More of a mauller in my opinión.
Galindez is one of the best counter punchers ever. He's certainly closer in class to Floyd than he is to average ass Maidana. Maidana couldn't wash Galindez's balls. He was incredibly dominant in the mid-70s. It gets overshadowed because unfortunately for him, he shared his prime with the two greatest Latin fighters of all time.
Again you are missing my point. Early on his career he had a clubber type style. But youre right later on he became more of a counter puncher and waited on his opponents to strike first. But at times he was known to revert back to his caveman style and was very ballsy like Maidana. The Maidana comparison was not a slight on Galindez because youre right he was a different caliber fighter than Maidana but he had the same grit and determination of a maidana and in general had that machismo...what many Argentinian fighters are known for. That was my point. I thought he was an excellent example of what this thread was about. He had a rocky like performance in one of his fights where he was cut early by an accidental headbutt and was taking a lot of punishment throughout but in the last round with seconds left bloody and hurt was able to win by knock out. A very dramatic finish that won him over a lot of fans. In a way he was like Canelo in the sense that he was overshadowed by great countrymen. In Canelo's case he was overshadowed by Chavez and many Mexican fans hated Canelo just like at that time Galindez was booed by some of his country men.
Ali Holmes Robinson Marquez Jofre Trinidad These are the standout mentions so far. I’ll add Carlos Monzon as well, although it didn’t happen often.
Agreed what Tyson did in the first fight vs Wilder was insane. He was out. Got up with seconds to go and cameback to win the last round. People can say what they want about the Gyspsi King but he had balls.
